Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1887-06-29

| say tl6 law, WIFI " sbIOuS h""ut ~" vs..
same time with gentle hand, ought to leao
these little ones into the light of intelligence
and good morals. 1t was beautiful tableau
when in our city q swarthy policeman hav.
, ing picked up a lost child in the street, was
found appeasing its cries with q stick o.
candy he had bought at the apple.stand.- -
That was well dons. aud beautifully done
But Oil these thousands of little ones
= through our streets, who are crying for the
bread of knowledge and intelligence. shall
we not give Il to them9 The officers OF the
law ought to go down into the cellars, and
up into tho garrets, aud bring out these be-
nighted little ones and put them under ed.
uoational intueuoes after they have passed
through the bath and under the comb put.
! ting before them the spelling g-book, and
teaching them to read the Lords Prayer
and tho Sermon on the Mount. "Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the king
dom of heaven" Our city ought to be faith
or and mother both to these outcast little
ones, As recipe for the cure of mneh OF
the woe. and want, and crime of our city, |
give the words which Thorwaldsep had
ehiseled on the open scroll in the hand of
the statue of John Gutenberg, the inventor
of the art of printing. "Let there be light /.
still further Reformstory societies are
an important element in the reotifioation of
the public fountains, Without calling any
Of them by name. refer more especially
TO those which recognize the physical as
we'll az the moral woes of the world. There
was pathos and great deal of common
sense in what the poor woman said to DIR.
Guthrie when he was telling her what a
very good woman she ought TO be. "Oh, Z"
she said, "if you were so hungry and cold
as am, you could think of nothing else" J"
| believe the great want of our city is the
Gospel and something to eat Faith and
repentance are of infinite Importance; but
they cannot satisfy an empty stomach!
You have to go forth in this work with the
bread of eternal life in your right hand. and
the bread of this life in your left hand, and
then you can touch them, initiating the
Lord Jesus Christ who first broke the bread
and fed the multitude in the wilderness,
and then began to preach, recognizing the
fact that while people are hungry they will
not listen, and they will not repent. We
want more common sense in the distribu-
tion of our charities fewer magnificent
theories, and more hard work.
Still further The great remedial influ-
ence is the Gospel of Christ. Take that
down through the lanes of suffering. Take
that down amid the novels of sin. Take
that up amid the mansions and palaces of
your city That is the salt that can cure
all the poisoned fountains of public iniqui-
ty. Do you know that in this cluster of
three cities, New York, Jersey City, and
Brooklyn, there are great multitude of
homeless children? You see l speak more
in regard to the youth and the children of
the country, because old Williams are sell
dom reformed, and therefore l talk more
about the little ones. They sleep under
the stoops, in the burned-out safe, in the
wagons in the streets, in the barges, wher-
ever they can get board to cover them
And in the summer they sleep all night
long in the parks. Their desttution is
we'll set forth by an incident. A city mis-
sionary asked one of them "Where is your
homer" Said he : 81 don't have no home,
SIR" "Well, where are your father and
mother?" "They are dead, SIR" 'tDid
you ever hear of Jesus Christg' 'No, 1
don't think l ever heard of Him." ibid
you ever hear of God?'' "Yes, I've heard
of God. Some of the poor people think it
kind of lucky at night to say something
over about that before they go to sleep
Yes, sir, l heard Of Him. Think Of a
conversation like that in Christian city.
How many are waiting for you to come
out in the spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ
and rescue them from the wretchedr ess
here! Oh, that the Church of God had
arms long enough and hearts warm
enough to take them up! How many of
them there are As l was thinking of the
subject this morning, it seemed to me as
though there was great brink, and that
these little ones with cut and torn feet were
coming on toward it. And here is group
of orphans. Oh, fathers and mothers, what
do you think Of these fatherless and mother
II NJ I.
care of their apparel, no heart to pity them.
Said one little one, when the mother died
ssWho will take care Of my clothes now?"
cold world. They are shivering on the
brink like lambs on the verge of a preciplce
Does not your blood run cold as thev 90
over it?
And here is another group that come on
toward the precipice. They are the chill
dren of besotted parents. They are worse
off than orphans. Look at that pale cheek;
woe bleached it. Look at that cash across
the forehead the father struck it. Hear
that heart-piercing cry; drunken mothers
blasphemy compelled it. And we come
out and we say go, ye suffering, peeled
and blistered ones, we come to help you"
''Too late!' cry thousands of voices. 1.-THE
path we travel is steep down, and we can't
stop. Too latep' And we catch our
breath and we make a terrific outcry-
ssToo late p is echoed from the garrett to
the cellar, from the ginshop and from the
brothel 'sToo later' 1t is too late, and
they go over.
| Here is another group. an army of neg
lected children. They come on toward
the brink, and every time they step ten
thousand hearts break. The ground is red
| 1o IF &hai, =
heavy with their groans. Their ranks are
! being filled up from all the houses of iniq-
uity and shame. Skeleton Despair pushes
them on toward the brink. The death
knell has already begun to toll, and the
angels of God hover like birds over the
plunge of a cataract. While these children
are on the brink they halt, and throw out
their hands, and cry "Help helpr' o
Church of God, will you help? Men and
women bought by the blood of the Son of
God, will you help? while Christ cries from
the heavens: "Save them from going down;
am the ransom"
I stopped on the street and Just looked at
the face of one of those little ones. Have
you ever examined the faces of the neglect
ed children of the poor? Other children
have gladness in their faces. When group
of them rush across the road it seems as
though spring gust had unloosened an
orchard of apple blossoms. But these chill
dren of the poor. There is but little ring
in their laughter, and it stops quick, as
though some bitter memory tripped it
They have an old walk. They do not skip
or run up on the lumber just for the pleas
ure of leaping down. They never bathed
in the mountain stream. They never waded
in the brook for pebbles. They never
chased the butterfly across the lawn, put
ting their hat right down where it was
just before. Childhood has been dashed
out of them. Want waved its wizard
wand above the manger of their birth, and
withered leaves are lying where God in
tended budding giant of battle. Once in
a while one of these children gets out.
Here is one, for instance At ten years of
age he is sent out by his parents, who say
to him 'Here is basket-now go off and
beg and steal" The boy says: 'G can't
steal" They kick him into a corner
That'night he puts his swollen head into
the straw; but voice comes from heaven,